Attract New Customers Without Spooking Your Old Ones
- Lorenzo Ostili
- Oct 22
- 5 min read
How Customer Segments Relate |
Separate and Connected Communities: Two Paths to Strategic Growth |
Incompatible Segments: When Serving Everyone Means Serving No One |
Sources of Segment Tensions |
How Customer Segments Relate
Understanding how customer segments relate to each other is essential for building a strong brand strategy. Two main dynamics shape these relationships. The first is the kind of value each segment seeks from the brand. When different customer groups are looking for entirely distinct benefits, this is called divergent value. For example, a construction worker might choose Timberland boots for their durability on the job, while a city-dweller might wear the same boots as a fashion statement. Though they buy the same product, their reasons are unrelated.
On the other hand, some customer groups are interdependent, what one group gets out of the brand increases when the other group uses it too. This is known as collaborative value. Think of eBay: the platform becomes more valuable to buyers when there are more sellers, and vice versa.
The second dynamic is how much one customer segment cares about who else is using the brand. In some cases, people are indifferent. A farmer buying a John Deere tractor won’t be concerned that suburban homeowners are also purchasing John Deere lawn mowers. But in other cases, the presence of certain customer groups can influence how others feel about the brand for better or worse. Beats by Dre became more appealing as musicians and athletes were seen wearing them, boosting their credibility with the general public. Conversely, Burberry faced a backlash when its iconic check design became associated with UK “chav” culture, causing its traditional luxury audience to distance themselves from the brand.
When these two dynamics, value type and sensitivity are combined, they create four distinct kinds of relationships between customer segments. Some segments exist in separate communities, with little overlap. Others form connected communities where everyone benefits from each other’s presence. In some cases, segments may clash, creating tension that can damage the brand. And in more strategic scenarios, one segment may lead while another follows, reinforcing each other’s engagement.
Understanding these relationships can help you shape your messaging, channel mix, and innovation strategy without alienating any of your key audiences.
While conflict often arises in incompatible segments, the other three relationship types separate communities, connected communities, and leader-follower segments can offer valuable opportunities for growth without friction. So, if you start understanding how your customer segments relate to one another, you can make more informed strategic decisions. This insight helps you identify which new segments to target and which offerings will support growth in a way that’s both low-risk and sustainable. Rather than guessing, you’ll be able to expand your reach while maintaining harmony across your customer base ensuring your brand evolves without alienating the audiences that matter most.
Separate and Connected Communities: Two Paths to Strategic Growth
When customer segments operate as separate communities, each group seeks distinct value from the brand without influencing the preferences of the others. Nike is a strong example: runners look for cutting-edge shoes endorsed by elite athletes and training apps tailored to their sport, while basketball fans are drawn to footwear tied to icons like LeBron James or Caitlin Clark. Each group can engage with Nike in entirely different ways without overlap or conflict. This allows Nike to serve multiple audiences simultaneously, offering different experiences, messages, and even endorsers, all under one brand umbrella.
This type of growth strategy is relatively safe because segments are compartmentalized. Brands can expand simply by targeting new communities one at a time. However, this comes at a cost. Each segment often requires its own marketing strategy, resources, and tailored messaging, which limits the potential for cross-segment efficiency or organic growth.
In contrast, connected communities gain value from each other’s presence. Platforms like LinkedIn, Venmo, or eBay thrive because different segments: job seekers, recruiters, buyers, sellers interact in a shared environment. The more users from each group participate, the more valuable the platform becomes for everyone. These network effects can drive exponential growth, but they also introduce risk. If one critical group disengages, the value for others diminishes quickly. Vine’s rapid collapse in 2016 illustrates this perfectly. As top content creators left the platform, advertisers followed, and the remaining user base eroded swiftly. Despite Vine’s early success, the loss of one key segment triggered a chain reaction that ultimately shut the platform down.
Understanding whether your brand serves separate or connected communities is essential to designing a sustainable growth strategy. While separate communities offer stability, connected communities can accelerate growth, but require greater interdependence and careful balance.
Incompatible Segments: When Serving Everyone Means Serving No One
Incompatible segments present the highest risk for brands, as they tend to create tension instead of synergy. These are customer groups that not only seek different forms of value from a brand but are also heavily influenced, often negatively, by each other’s presence. As a result, their coexistence under one brand umbrella can spark friction and alienate both sides.
Take the example of Kohl’s, a retailer known for catering to value-conscious, middle-income shoppers. When it attempted to pivot toward a more affluent audience, offering trendier merchandise and redesigning store layouts, it ended up confusing its core customer base without fully winning over the new one. The result? Brand dilution, inconsistent messaging, and declining loyalty.
Trying to serve incompatible segments rarely works because each group’s perception of the brand is altered by the presence of the other. One segment may feel the brand is “no longer for them,” while the other sees no clear reason to switch from their current provider. This clash undermines trust and makes it hard to maintain a coherent identity.
For brands, the key takeaway is to avoid the temptation to pursue growth at any cost. Not all customers are a good fit, and trying to satisfy everyone often ends in satisfying no one.
Sources of Segment Tensions
To successfully manage or avoid conflicts between customer segments, the first essential step is understanding where the tension originates. Segment tensions typically arise when different customer groups have competing expectations, values, or behaviors that clash when served under the same brand. These conflicts can surface in how products are positioned, how services are delivered, or even how the brand is represented culturally or visually.
For example, if one segment values exclusivity and prestige while another prioritizes affordability and accessibility, trying to serve both with a unified strategy can backfire. Marketing that appeals to one group might alienate the other, and the brand risks appearing inconsistent or untrustworthy. Once the root causes are clear, brand leaders can choose the right path forward, whether that means clearly differentiating product lines, creating sub-brands, or shifting communication strategies.
Having a solid understanding of your customer dynamics not only helps in solving problems but also in predicting them before they become serious...
Discover more:
For Consultancy Services:
Article written by: Lorenzo Ostili
©Iuppiter International Consulting. All right reserved.
Comments